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Lock your doors! Lock your windows! THE WOMEN ARE OUT! - Gynophobia is on the rise! Pictured is award-winning activist Samar Badawi who is sparking this debate.

Psychologists define gynophobia as an abnormal fear of women. The cause may be referred to a bad experience at a young age or mistreatment by society. When society adopts a negative attitude toward women, it deprives a large resource of its potential to be part of its progress and allows seeds of conflict to become stumbling blocks in its natural development.

Samar was standing between two of the most powerful women in the world, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, with 10 other extraordinary women from different countries. But instead of being considered a national hero by her community, she was looked at as an exploited tool for the foreign agenda.

Many skeptics didn't like the idea that the prize was distributed by the US State Department. The international recognition that Samar is getting is something new and beyond their comprehension of normal life.

Samar is only one of many examples of brave Saudi young women who think it's time to take corrective actions to adjust women's status in Saudi society. The thing they all have in common is that they all face the fear of society for their new active and progressive role. Many issues are waiting to be addressed for women from laws pertaining to male guardianship, education, marriage, divorce, traveling abroad, opening a bank account, voting; to simple human demands as being allowed to drive a car.

The existing status of women as second-class citizens is not accepted by these 21st century Saudi ladies anymore. In many cases, it's not an actual need for new laws for women empowerment as much as a need for cultural adaptation of the new understanding of the growing role of women in modern society.

Social awareness of legal rights and duties is a vital element at this stage. The main constraint for many women is their lack of understanding of the basic legislative rights and the absence of legal knowledge.